1. INTRODUCTION
TO DIRECT MAIL

2. WHAT IS COVERED IN THIS DECK1
What is direct mail 2
Difference between direct mail and door drops 3
Developments in direct mail 4
UK media market 5
Why direct mail is 3rd largest media 6
Case studies 7
Assignments

3. WHAT IS DIRECT MAIL?

4. DIRECT MAIL CONSISTS OF MAIL ITEMS ADDRESSED TO AN INDIVIDUAL AND DELIVERED BY POST
Letters, brochures, postcards, samples, catalogues or packages sent to an individual with the purpose of getting a commercial message across.
Such marketing messages are addressed directly to:
Customers, or
Prospects, i.e. those the company thinks would like to become their customers)  
Direct mail often drives a specific ‘call to action’, such as:
Requesting further information, or
Ordering the product or service, or
Visiting the company’s website to achieve one or both of these
Direct mail is trackable, and responses can be easily measured.

5. BENEFITS OF DIRECT MAIL
Highly targeted. Each campaign can be addressed to a specific audience with a message that is relevant and valuable to those individual customers.
Can be personalized, not just with a name but with other information such as renewal dates, purchase history, birthdays etc. This increases customer engagement and responsiveness to messages.
Is tangible and tactile. It persists in the home, is memorable and can be shared this increases customer engagement and responsiveness to messages.
Research to support stated benefits is provided in subsequent slides that form this deck. The full report ‘The Private Life of Mail is downloadable from this site or .
Source: The Private Life of Mail

6. BENEFITS OF DIRECT MAIL
It is highly versatile in its marketing application, either in solus or as part of an integrated marketing program e.g. welcome pack, brand builder, subscriptions reminder, recruitment or loyalty program.
Direct mail is cost effective and can deliver significant return on investment (ROI).
It supports other media and can have a strong multiplier effect within the mix of an integrated campaign.
Research to support stated benefits is provided in subsequent slides that form this deck. The full report ‘The Private Life of Mail is downloadable from this site or .
In an attention poor digital world mail achieves breakthrough
Source: The Private Life of Mail

7. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
DIRECT MAIL AND DOOR DROPS

8. DISTINCTION BETWEEN DIRECT MAIL AND DOOR DROPS
Door drop consists of unaddressed printed items delivered to a group of addresses in a selected geographical area.
‘Unaddressed’ means either no addressee or ‘to the occupier’
Door drops often drives a specific ‘call to action’ such as:
Requesting further information, or
Ordering the product or service, or
Going to the company’s website to achieve one or both of these
Typical formats include leaflets, brochures and flyers, but samples or catalogues can be distributed to get the commercial message across.
Door drops are trackable and responses can be easily measured.
Door drops can be ‘targeted’ to selecting geographical and geo- demographic areas i.e. most typical age or income group resident in the area.
Source: GB TGI 2015 Q3 (April 2014 – March 2015) 8

9. DEVELOPMENTS IN
DIRECT MAIL

10. DEVELOPMENTS IN DIRECT MAIL
In the last decade, new technologies have amplified the effectiveness of direct mail by increasing the ability to target audiences and personalise mail.
The ability to collect and analyse significant amounts of data has enabled better targeting and the ability to refine messages to increase relevance and therefore responsiveness.
The development of printing techniques means that all elements such as imagery, format and messages can be truly personalised
The emergence of virtual reality means an interactive, digital experience can be delivered directly into a customer or prospects hands as an integral part of a mail piece.
See case studies at end of this deck
Personalisation and customisation IKEA, Pet Plan.
Data and personalisation- Homebase.
Augmented reality Monarch airlines.

11. UK MEDIA MARKET
MARKET

12. ROYAL MAIL IS THE UK’s THIRD LARGEST MEDIA OWNER1 2
Advertisers invest £1.1bn in mail each year (excluding production) 3 4 5
Source: Neilsen UK Adspend, 2015.

13. THE MEDIA MARKET 44% of total spend 24% of total spend
Source: Neilsen UK Adspend, Q1 2016

14. WHY DIRECT MAIL IS
THE 3RD LARGEST MEDIA

15. 1. CONSUMERS ENGAGE WITH DIRECT MAIL

16. THEN AND NOW
1950’s: 50 Messages a day
2016: 20,000 Messages a day

17. STILL FINITE ATTENTION BRANDS ARE COMPETING FOR

18. ITS ALL ABOUT ENGAGEMENT
To drive results you need to do more than just offer the right product to the right consumer at the right time. You need to make them emotionally motivated to investigate, and ultimately, to buy. That is, it is essential to get them engaged.
Average number of advertisement and brand exposures per day per person: 5,000+
Average number of “ads only” exposures per day: 362
Average number of “ads only” noted per day: 153
Average number of “ads only” that we have some awareness of per day: 86
Average number of “ads only” that made an impression (engagement): 12
9/14 Media Dynamics Inc. (USA).
Source: 9/14 Media Dynamics Inc. (USA). 16

19. 83% OF THE UK OPEN ALL OR MOST OF ITS MAIL
Source: GB TGI 2015 Q3 (April 2014 – March 2015)

20. ALL TYPES OF MAIL GETS OPENED AT HIGH RATES
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, Ethnographic Quant, Trinity McQueen, 2014

21. Average length of time spent reading mail each day
MAIL GETS ATTENTION
22mins
Average length of time spent reading mail each day
IPA Touchpoints 5, Time diary activity 0 all recording ‘looking at post’ as primary activity at a particular point in time. Base of all respondents (51,366).
Source: IPA Touchpoints 5, 2014

22. CONSUMERS LESS ENGAGED WITH EMAIL
21%
open acquisition s
29%
open retention s
51%
s are deleted within 2 seconds
A study of analytics in 2013 revealed that over 50% of s are deleted within two seconds of being opened. And the actual open rates were only 21% and 29% for acquisition and retention respectively.
There is a strong suggestion that, as more and more content is being consumed on the move (and as people feel they are getting too many s), the vast majority of s are not even being opened. And those that are being opened get deleted with little more than a glance.
This begs the question, who are you not reaching?
Full Report: It’s all about Mail and – Working together to create greater 1 to 1 relationships with your customers_
1. DMA National Benchmarking Report, 2013
2. Litmus Analytics, 2013

23. 75% OF PEOPLE READ/LOOK 1-10 PIECES OF DIRECT MAIL EVERY WEEK
Source: GB TGI 2015 Q4 (July 2014-June 2015)

24. MAIL HAS LONGEVITY. PEOPLE GIVE IT TIME AND KEEP IT IN THEIR HOMES
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, Ethnographic Quant, Trinity McQueen, 2014

25. MAIL DRIVES ACTION AND IS RETAINED FOR LATER USE AND REFERENCE
Source: IPA Touchpoints 6 SuperHub Database – IPA 2015

26. 2. CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT DRIVES ACTION

27. INCREASINGLY MAIL IS DRIVING PEOPLES DIGITAL BEHAVIOUR
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, Mail and Digital Part 2, Quadrangle, 2014

28. MAIL CREATES A MEDIA MULTIPLIER EFFECT…
Total ROI increased 12% when mail was included in the mix.
NB. RROI means Revenue Return on Investment (measure used by BrandScience researchers) it is the same as the vernacular Return on Investment. Mail is driving action to purchase delivering uplift to campaign results and reducing overall cost of sale.
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, BrandScience 2014; advertiser cases including mail versus cases without mail.

29. …BY DELIVERING RESULTS
Campaigns that included mail were:
27% more likely to deliver top-ranking sales performance
40% more likely to deliver top-ranking acquisition levels
+27%
+40%
The BrandScience analysis focused on ROI, but we also wanted to confirm that mail delivered on other commercial measures.
Peter Field, an independent marketing effectiveness consultant, analysed the IPA Effectiveness Awards case studies data and compared the metrics between campaigns that used mail and those that did not.
The analysis of the IPA Effectiveness Awards databank identified that campaigns that included mail were 27% more likely to deliver top-ranking sales performance and 40% more likely to deliver top-ranking acquisition levels, than campaigns that didn’t.  
Source: Royal Mail MarketReach, IPA Databank Meta-Analysis, Peter Field, 2013

30. CASE STUDIES

31. VOLKSWAGEN DROVE PROSPECTS INTO DEALERSHIPS AND SALES
Background
Volkswagen wanted to test their traditional acquisition model to get customers into showrooms.
Solution.
A ‘playful and fun’ pack that re-enforced the the ATL campaign proposition of ‘unbeatable value’. The pack included a sheet of VW branded sticking plasters …in case the ‘surprising offers’ made the recipients dizzy with excitement! The pack was mailed to prospects on the VW database, including a group of ‘dormant’ (10 years ago) buyers.
Results
4,398 recipients visited their local dealer, with a high proportion purchasing . Delivering an ROI of 3:1.  
Assignment to get students thinking about complementarity of media. Using DM to support telly or digital etc.
Source: Volkswagen ‘Plaster Pack’, DMA Award (Shortlist), 2014

32. STREETLIFE USED MAIL AS THE MAIN MEDIUM TO GROW THEIR USER BASE
Background
Streetlife, a UK social network for neighbours to share practical, local information and advice, make real-world connections and build stronger communities.
The goal: to grow user base from 120k to 750k+ in a year, acquiring new users quickly, in a scalable and replicable way as they rolled out to each new area.
Solution
Streetlife used mail as the primary channel, to target their audience in a precise, personal and impactful way and drive users online.
A focused testing approach allowed them to optimize targeting, messaging and creative, hothouse areas and achieve growth before moving on to the next area
Background
Streetlife, a British social network for neighbours to share practical, local information and advice, make real-world connections and build stronger communities.
The goal was to grow user base from 120k to 750k+ in a year, acquiring new users quickly, in a scalable and replicable way as they rolled out to each new area.
Solution
Streetlife used mail as the primary channel, target their audience in a precise, personal and impactful way to drive users online. A focused testing approach allowed them to optimize targeting, messaging and creative. It also enabled them to hothouse specific areas, to achieve growth and then move to the next area
Results
Being brave and different worked. Streetlife ‘s number of active users grew by 630% (120k to 880k users), beating their target. 65% of this growth can be attributed solely to mail.
Critically, mail recruits have proved more engaged and thus more valuable users.
Because mail is shared, it achieved an uplift from multiple occupants at the same address signing up. And because mail was kept, users were still being acquired four months later. The rate of response became predictable and easy to forecast.
The testing plan enabled Streetlife to double the mail conversion rate and halve the cost of the campaign over a year. Ultimately Streetlife achieved users at a rate of 5%+ from a cold mailing on an unknown brand.
Assignment: To get students thinking about how to build an on-line brand , how do you raise awareness of an online presence. Word of mouth is slow. Consider Go-daddy etc using day time and satalite TV channels etc. What is the USP of mail for this application.
Source: Streetlife, 2015

33. STREETLIFE RESULTS Results
Active users grew by 630% (120k to 880k users).
65% of this growth was directly attributable to mail.
Critically, mail recruits have proved more engaged and thus more valuable users.
The impact of mail was amplified because:
It was shared - achieving an uplift from multiple occupants at the same address signing up.
It was kept - users were still being acquired four months later.
The rate of response became predictable, easy to forecast and plan for.
Using a ‘test’n’learn’ approach enabled Streetlife to identify which propositions and creative designs worked best; doubling the conversion rate, and halving the cost of the campaign, over the year.
Ultimately Streetlife recruited users at a rate of 5%+ from a cold mailing on an unknown brand.
“Some would have said it was counterintuitive to use mail as a primary medium for a social network site. Mail not only delivered -it over delivered.”
Nina Whittaker, Head of Marketing at Streetlife
Assignment: To get students thinking about how to build an on-line brand , how do you raise awareness of an online presence. Word of mouth is slow. Consider Go-daddy etc using day time and satalite TV channels etc. What is the USP of mail for this application.
Source: Streetlife, 2015

34. IKEA USED DIRECT MAIL TO INSPIRE CUSTOMERS TO REVAMP OUTDOORS
Background:
IKEA wanted to raise awareness among IKEA FAMILY members of their extensive outdoor range.
Solution:
Clever use of data identified customers with gardens and created a series of personalised weather forecasts. Using digital printing, weather-responsive, personalised mailers were sent out.
Results:
Outdoor product transactions increased by 55% and overall sales by 34%.
Assignment: to get students thinking about the creative applications for digital print capabilities. How can you use personalisation and customisation to increase the relevance of your message and drive customer engagement. Think too about how that can be used to capitalise on the USP’s of mail in the media mix.
Source : DMA, Gold Winner, Ikea, 2013

35. MONARCH AIRLINES COMBINED MAIL WITH AUGMENTED REALITY TO STAND OUT
Background:
In the highly competitive ski-holiday market Monarch Airlines couldn't outspend established airlines but needed a way to attract new audiences and engaging them.
Analysis of the ‘Ski Club of Great Britain’ database showed Monarch’s routes appealed to independent, adventure skiers, who constantly research destinations, love new experiences and are digitally savvy.
Solution:
Monarch merged holiday content with technology to satisfy this curiosity, using Mail to create ‘destination inspiration’ in the travel-buying process, and adding rich digital content to give it an extra dimension.
The pack used a ‘Maltese cross’ format that unfolded to reveal a mountain range with information on fresh ski routes and resorts served by Monarch.
By holding a smartphone over the mailing Augmented Reality (AR) transported them to the resorts, provided destination videos, expert advice and a link to the Monarch website for prices and booking, there and then.
Assignment: to get students thinking about creative ways to use augmented reality to increase the recipients engagement with a pack and to allow instant purchase. Personal audio visual messages from sender, rich interactive content delivered into the recipients hands to surprise and delight.
Follow the link to watch the video of how this mailing created interaction
Source: DMA Grand Prix Winner, 2013, WDMP

36. MONARCH AIRLINES COMBINED MAIL WITH AUGMENTED REALITY TO STAND OUT
Results:
Monarch achieved 7,201 bookings from this campaign
Adding £2.2 million in revenue; which resulted in an average spend increase of 24.5% and an impressive ROI of 18:1.
Monarch was the first UK airline to combine mail with AR, breaking new ground for the industry.
Their website saw 21.7% of mail recipients visit, with one even tweeting pictures of the pack, thanking Monarch for the great information.
Assignment: to get students thinking about creative ways to use augmented reality to increase the recipients engagement with a pack and to allow instant purchase. Personal audio visual messages from sender, rich interactive content delivered into the recipients hands to surprise and delight.
Source: DMA Grand Prix Winner, 2013, WDMP

37. PETS AT HOME CREATED A PET CENTRIC LOYALTY SCHEME
Background
Pets at Home wanted their loyalty scheme to deliver incremental revenue.
Solution:
The loyalty programme was highly tailored to deliver relevant content. Audiences were segmented and the mail packs personalised with pet names and tailored content.
Results:
88% of members have swiped their VIP card at checkout. Average transaction values are 37% higher than for non-members and the number of customers spending was boosted spending by 20%.
Assignment: to get students thinking about the creative applications for digital print capabilities. How can you use personalisation and customisation to increase the relevance of your message and drive customer engagement. Think too about how that can be used to capitalise on the USP’s of mail in the media mix.
Source: DMA, Gold Winner, Pets At Home, 2013

38. HOMEBASE CRM JOINED DATA INSIGHT WITH DIGITAL PRINT TO MAXIMISE SALES
Background:
Homebase wanted an alternative to store-wide discounting every other weekend to drive DIY sales but home improvement projects are irregular and unpredictable
Solution:
Data analysis identified ten purchase patterns proven that could lead to future spend if Homebase could communicate close to the opportunity.
Personalised direct mail was sent within 6 days of product purchase highlighting relevant messages and offers to drive additional visits and revenue.
Results:
The programme moved average response rates from 9% to 46%. It delivered 2% of total sales (£30.4m per year) and shifted ROI from 120% to 346%.
Assignment: to get students thinking about the kinds of variables/data that could be used to select and audience. Think also about testing the performance of different data selections etc.
Source: DMA, Silver Winner, Homebase, 2013

39. ASSIGNMENTS

40. VOLKSWAGEN: USING TARGETTING AND FUN
Background
Volkswagen wanted to test mail versus their traditional acquisition model to get customers into showrooms
A ‘playful and fun’ pack re-enforced the ATL campaign proposition of ‘unbeatable value’.
The pack was mailed to prospects on the VW database, including a group of ‘dormant’ (10 years ago) buyers.
Exercise
Using a current TV campaign, explore how you could use Mail media to engagement with the audience and enhance recall?
How might you use segmentation and personalisation?
Source: Volkswagen ‘Plaster Pack’, DMA Award (Shortlist), 2014

41. STREETLIFE 1: BUILDING ONLINE BRANDS
Background
Streetlife, a UK social network for neighbours to share practical, local information and advice, make real-world connections and build stronger communities.
The goal: to grow user base from 120k to 750k+ in a year, acquiring new users quickly, in a scalable and replicable way as they rolled out to each new area.
Consider how you might communicate with local communities to raise awareness of the online brand.
You need to create chatter and drive your audience to go online
Remember – the client wants to test small areas, test concepts, learn what works, improve and then roll-out to new areas
What is the USP of mail for this application?
Source: Streetlife, 2015

42. STREETLIFE 2: WHAT THEY DID
Solution
Streetlife used mail as primary channel, to target the audience in a precise, personal and impactful way to drive users online
Using ‘test’n’learn’ approach allowed them to optimize targeting, messaging and creative, hothousing areas to achieve growth before moving on to next area
Ultimately, Streetlife recruited users at a rate of 5%+ from a cold mailing for an unknown brand.
Results
Active users grew by 630% (120k to 880k)
65% of growth directly attributable to mail
Mail recruits were more engaged and more valuable users
The impact of mail was amplified because:
It was shared – multiple occupants at the same address signed up
It was kept – new sign ups were acquired up to four months later
The response rate became predictable, easy to forecast and plan
Ongoing testing enabled Streetlife to:
Identify effective propositions and creative designs
Double conversion rate
Halve recruitment costs over year
Source: Streetlife, 2015

43. IKEA: DATA TO IDENTIFY KEY TARGETS
Background:
IKEA wanted to raise awareness of their extensive outdoor range among IKEA FAMILY members
Clever use of data identified customers with gardens and used digital printing to created a series of personalised weather forecasts.
Exercise:
How might you use data to build a targetted campaign?
What sort of data might you use?
How could you use personalised digital print capabilities to customise your campaign?
How can you increase the relevance of your message and drive customer engagement?
Source : DMA, Gold Winner, Ikea, 2013

44. MONARCH AIRLINES: USING AUGMENTED REALITY TO CREATE STAND OUT
Background:
Monarch Airlines merged holiday content with AR technology to create curiosity and ‘destination inspiration’ during the travel-buying process.
Exercise
Think about a brand of your choice.
Consider creative ways to use augmented reality and mail to increase the recipients engagement with a pack
How could you use AR to engage with an audience and create an instant purchase?
What sort audio visual messages could you use?
What type of rich, interactive content could you deliver to the recipients to surprise, intrigue or delight them?
Follow the link to watch the video of how this mailing created interaction
Source: DMA Grand Prix Winner, 2013, WDMP

45. PETS AT HOME - 1- USING DIGITAL PRINT USE TO PERSONALISE MAILINGS
Background
Pets at Home wanted their loyalty scheme to deliver incremental revenue
Audiences were segmented and mail packs personalised with pet names and tailored content
Exercise
Digital print techniques enable short run creative designs, personalised, even individualised copy.
How can the creative applications for digital print capabilities be used to enhance a campaign?
How can you use personalisation and customisation to increase the relevance of your message to drive customer engagement?
How can these characteristics be used to enhance a multi media campaign?
Source: DMA, Gold Winner, Pets At Home, 2013

46. HOMEBASE: USING CRM AND PROGRAMATIC
Background:
Home improvement projects are irregular and unpredictable and Homebase wanted an alternative to store-wide discounting every other weekend to drive DIY sales.
Data analysis identified ten purchase patterns proven to lead to future spend which were incorporated into a highly targetted ‘trigger-event’ driven CRM campaign of personalised direct mail, sent within 6 days of to drive additional purchases
Exercise:
Consider a possible decision making process related to a brand and product that you know
What kind of variables and data could be used to select an audience for a complementary mail media campaign?
How would you test the performance of different data selections?
Source: DMA, Silver Winner, Homebase, 2013